While You Were Sleeping
by Ring-Around-Poesy
Summary: Bella Swan's life consists of constant loneliness until she saves Edward Cullen from a hit and run. After a mix up announces her as his fiancée, his family welcome her with open arms. His younger sister, Alice, in particular... An adaptation of the movie.
1. Chapter 1

**Description**; Bella Swan's life consists of constant loneliness until she saves Edward Cullen, the man she is enamoured with from a few brief glances. After a mix up at the hospital that leads Edward's family to believe she is his fiancé, they take her into their lives with open arms and make her feel loved and happy for the first time in years. Never believing herself to be anything special or noteworthy, when the family reignites her zest for life and love, Bella finds she can't let them go. Especially Alice, Edward's younger sister.

**Rating** ; Nothing too graphic but ladies _will_be smooching and falling in love. If that's not your cup of tea, no one's forcing you to drink it.

**Author's Note**; Inspiration struck on Sunday night after I watched this movie for the billionth time. I hope whoever may read this is happy inspiration struck, and not cursing it for doing so... If you've seen it, you know what's in store. Obviously it won't be scene for scene the same and I'll be changing things up to suit my idea of it, but I love the movie and want to stay as true as possible to it. So in saying that, don't be surprised if there's a few lines that are verbatim slipped in. And maybe some OOC-ness. Not crazily so, I just don't want Rosalie to be a bitch, basically. I'm really nervous about this actually, so please, be kind =)

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><p><span>While You Were Sleeping<span>

Chapter One

Bella Swan liked to watch people. She liked to watch her regulars; the Roberts family interact over dinner when they came to the diner she owned. She liked to watch Lizzie and Don, a couple who had been married for forty-four years eating the same meal day after day before they set out on their walks together, holding hands and laughing even though the passing of time had made them slow and a little less steady on their feet. She enjoyed watching the younger couples share a plate of fries and a milkshake on a first date.

She just liked watching people.

Most of all, she liked to watch the bronze haired man who rushed in every lunchtime ordering a coffee and a jelly donut to go before rushing out and back across the street to 'Cullen and Sons, Attorneys at Law.' For three months, Monday to Friday, she watched as the handsome man ran his hands through his luscious looking locks, how he gave that devastating crooked grin to her head waitress in thanks as he balanced his coffee and donut in one hand while he held his expensive looking briefcase in the other.

He was her favourite to watch.

She liked to think that one day she would get the courage to talk to him. Maybe stand at the cash register one lunchtime and smoothly initiate a witty conversation that would make him wonder where she had been all his life. He would fall madly in love with her and dump the super model she was sure he was seeing, propose to her and want to have a baseball team of bronze-haired babies...

Who was she kidding?

She was a shy, clumsy, diner owner who had no life outside of her job. The main man of her life for the past three years had been her dog, Scruffy. As for dating, since her father died and left her the diner she had no time for anything but keeping the food stocked, paying bills and making sure Crazy Phil always had 'his' special booth by the window free or she would be cleaning food off the walls for days after.

No. She would carry on like this; keeping her father's beloved business thriving and watching others live happy lives.

It wasn't that she was unhappy. Every day Bella laughed and joked with her customers, her staff loved the banter she shared with them and she considered them her closest friends, but once she shut up shop and went home it was quiet. Lonely. The only one to greet her at the door was Scruffy. As much as she loved her dog, and she really did, she couldn't help but feel an emptiness settle in her soul.

Her mother had died when she was three in a hit and run accident. Her father had died three years ago from cancer and as far as she was aware, there were no other Swans remotely close to America, never mind Washington. She was alone. No family, no partner, no nothing.

Nothing except the four minutes of each day that she got to watch the Greek God in his tailor-made suits stroll across the street with that swagger; the confident swagger of a man who knows he's going places, who knows he'll have the perfect wife and the perfect kids and they'll all have perfect hair forever and ever.

Bella knew she didn't belong in his world. She was too normal, she wasn't interesting enough and she certainly didn't consider herself pretty enough to be with someone like him.

But in her daydreams, which varied from walking through the park with his arm securely around her waist pulling her into his swimmer's physique, to being snuggled up on the couch while a few mini Mr Gorgeous ran around their house yelling to mommy and daddy as Bella and he chuckled good naturedly at the little scamps, to the more raunchy fantasies she had; in every one he didn't care what she looked like or what she was wearing. She didn't have to try and be interesting. He simply wanted her. And no-one could take Bella's daydreams from her. God knows, it was all that kept her smiling some days.

She sighed as she locked up the diner one night, reflecting on how the midnight blue suit had complemented her nameless stranger's complexion. As she turned she heard raised voices and what sounded like a scuffle from behind her. Whipping her head around she saw none other than the object of her obsession being punched and shoved into the middle of the road. She yelled for the yob to stop. As Mr Perfect Hair stumbled farther into the lane of oncoming traffic, disorientated by the blow to his head, everything started moving in slow motion for Bella.

She saw as he struggled to right himself, she was dimly aware of his attacker running away after seeing something that spooked him, she only barely heard screams from onlookers as she started running the fifteen-odd feet between herself and the bronze haired Adonis after spotting a car careening around the corner and straight towards him.

Suddenly, and she wasn't sure how exactly, she was on her back with someone half on, half off her. People started crowding around yelling for help, crying, asking if she was okay.

Was she?

Her head hurt like hell and the weight on top of her torso wasn't helping her any, but other than that, she thought she was alive. Maybe not well, but at least alive.

She turned her head slightly to see what the hell was happening and saw a shock of bronze hair and the face of a male model centimetres from her own. He had a large gash running from his forehead across to his temple and downwards. The blood seemed to be steadily flowing out of it. Bella cringed. She hated blood.

She tried to sit up but hands pushed her back down, told her not move, that she hit her head and she may be bleeding. A man in a police uniform asked her her name.

"Bella." She whimpered out.

She lifted her hand to the back of her head and felt warmth and wetness. Dreading what she was about to see on her fingertips, she slowly brought her hand in front of her face seeing the sticky red substance that never failed to make her faint.

"Okay, Bella. Can you tell me who this man is?"

She could feel it happening, that old familiar reaction. How the sickness rushed over her, the high pitched ringing in her ears as everything else was drowned out, could see everyone get farther and farther away as her vision darkened.

But just before she fainted, she managed to breathe out; "He's the man I'm going to marry."

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><p>An undeterminable time later Bella awoke to beeping. Her head hurt. Something was pinching into the back of her hand and the sheets of the bed she currently reclined on were far too scratchy for her liking.<p>

She opened her eyes to the blinding light above her and crinkled her nose at the sterile smell invading her senses.

"What the fuck?" She groaned out as she sat up.

The pinching in her arm turned out to be a needle leading to a drip and the beeping was coming from the heart monitor beside her bed.

She was attempting to take out the needle when a nurse breezed into the room and exclaimed happily, "You're awake! Excellent! How are you feeling, Miss Swan?"

She checked Bella's chart and walked to the head of the bed where Bella sat staring in confusion.

"Er, fine I guess. I've got a pretty bad headache and this drip is cutting into me, but other than that... what the hell happened?" Bella trailed off, asking the nurse as much as she was asking herself.

For the life of her she couldn't get a handle on why she was here. She knew she was in the hospital, she wasn't _that_ handicapped, but she just couldn't remember why. If the throbbing in her head was anything to go by, she should give up on remembering and just let the nice lady poke and prod her and try again later.

"Oh don't worry about that. You're only awake so that's totally normal. Especially after a traumatic incident." Traumatic incident? What traumatic incident? "You're kind of hot stuff around here, Miss Swan. Everyone's heard about how you jumped in front of a car to push Mr Cullen out of the way. You're a hero!" She gave Bella a toothy grin as she checked her body for signs of any hidden injuries.

_Mr_ _Cullen? A car? Me jumping in front of it?_

And it all came crashing back.

Whereas before, when it was actually happening it was like the title sequence to Baywatch, all slow motion and feeling like it wasn't really _her_ that it was happening to, now it was slamming into her in all it's technicolour glory.

_What. The. Fuck?_

_What in the name of fucking Jesus Christ was I thinking? Jumping in front of a fucking car? My own mother died from a hit and run! But no, apparently the the clumsiest goddamn girl in America decided to go head to head with a two tonne fucking car? How the hell did I win that one? And not only that, but I evidently saved Mr Dreamy while I was at it! Mr Dreamy, who is either the main 'Cullen' in Cullen and Sons, though he seems way too young to have kids, or he's the 'Son' part of the firm. _

_Well, shit._

Bella didn't know what to say so she settled on giving a non-committal "Mm."

"Well, everything seems to be just fine here." The red haired nurse bustled about the bed and threw the covers off of Bella. Bella frowned in confusion watching as the nurse wheeled in a wheelchair and clasped her hands in front of her. "Would you like to go and see Mr Cullen?"

"You mean I can see him?" Bella panicked. What the fuck would she say to him? _'Oh hey there, I'm kind of your stalker but it ended up working out well for you seeing as I was able to save your life... forgive me for creeping on you every day for the last three months?'._

No. She needed to find a way out of this.

"Of course! Why wouldn't you be able to?"

Bella looked from left to right in hopes of inspiration striking. She saw a sign stating visiting hours and blurted, "But visiting hours are over!"

"Honey, you aren't a visitor. You're a patient. Not only that; you saved his life!"

Bella was now in the chair being pushed through the hallways and into elevators as numerous nurses shot smiles her way and doctors clapped her on the shoulder.

"See? I told you that you're a rockstar round these ways!" The nurse leaned down to whisper in Bella's ear as Bella gave one last ditch attempt to not go and see her bronze haired dreamboat before she could at least prepare what to say and most importantly, at a time when she _wasn't in a fucking hospital gown!_

"Family!" Bella shouted, "I thought only family were allowed to visit patients?"

"Oh come now!" The nurse said with a chuckle and a knowing gleam in her eye.

Bella's attempts to stop her dog-with-a-bone nurse were all for naught as she was wheeled into the intensive care wing of the hospital and through to the doorway of a large, private room filled with people.

There were five people in total. On one side of the bed, the two oldest looking people of the group were standing leaning against one another, faces drawn and eyes red rimmed from tears and worry. The woman had long brown hair that had tints of her fallen son's bronze and her whole being exuded the presence of a concerned and devoted mother. The man she was desperately clinging to was tall, lean and had blonde hair and was obviously her partner. Beside them was a tall young man, about twenty four years old, Bella guessed, with long honey blonde hair and a deeply disturbed expression on his face. On the opposite side of the bed stood a tall, muscular, dark curly haired man, looking down sadly at the man Bella saved from certain death. Holding his hand was a gorgeous blonde haired woman who made Bella feel even more self conscious than she already was sitting with her hair a mess and ass hanging out of a paper gown. She had a worried frown on her face as a man near the bottom of the bed in a white lab coat droned on.

Everyone was listening to the doctor as Bella heard him say things like 'coma', 'no brain damage detected, but we can't be sure with such a blow to the head' and 'unsure of when he'll wake up, but we're optimistic." The doctor's eyes looked reassuringly at the group of people before settling on her own. He frowned and puffed out his chest rather self importantly.

"Nurse, just what is she doing here? I don't care who she is or what she did, we have rules to follow and only family are permitted to be in this area."

Bella turned to raise her eyebrows at the nurse and gave her a smug half smirk as she simply waved the brunette and the doctor off.

"I don't think that applies here, Doctor, do you? This is the woman who risked her life to save this young man's."

Everyone's eyes turned and stared at Bella before a choked sob was heard and the brown haired woman rushed towards her and leaned down to envelop the girl in a firm but gentle hug. She was shaking with the force of her sobs and Bella awkwardly patted her back from the seated position she was stuck in.

"Thank you! Oh, honey I don't even know how to show my gratitude! You saved our boy!" The woman pulled back and looked into Bella's eyes. She could see the heartache there, but more-so she could see hope and happiness that her son would be okay.

"Mrs Cullen, I'm sorry, but protocol states-"

"She saved Edward's life. This girl _is_ family." The blonde haired male, who Bella assumed to be _Edward's_ father, stated leaving no room for discussion.

Bella blushed deep scarlet as once more all eyes were on her. She was almost happy her busy-body nurse started to speak again just so that the attention was off her. 'Almost' being the operative word. When Bella heard what the nurse had to say next, she wasn't feeling anything but blind panic and nausea.

"What a fairytale story! I'm telling you, me and the girls at the nurse's station were positively giddy when we heard the story! How a girl saves a boy from an attacker and risks her own life to push him out of the way of a car!" The red head gushed the story out with the enthusiasm of a three year old hopped up on candy and coke. But she wasn't finished yet, oh no. "But _then_, to find out they were engaged to be married! Well, we were-"

Thankfully, but long after Bella would have preferred it, the nurse was cut off as the entire room exploded into a cacophony of sounds. Bella was stunned into silence, a flashback of her parting words to a policeman before her world surrendered to darkness played in her mind's eye.

"ENGAGED?"

"Since when?"

"Emmett, did you know about this?"

"Pop, I'm as clueless as you are."

"ENGAGED?"

"Jasper, he didn't mention anything to you?"

"He hasn't called me back in months."

"Everyone quiet. QUIET!"

The matriarch of the family let her presence be known, and damnit if that wasn't the most commanding 'mom' voice Bella had ever heard.

"I don't care that Edward didn't tell us. I don't care that he's been so buried in work for the last few months that we barely see him. I don't care about anything other than the fact he's alive. He's going to waken up, we're all going to be here for him and in the meantime we have a daughter-in-law to get to know and make her a part of this family."

Everyone seemed to calm down significantly after the woman's reprimand. Bella sat, looking like a deer caught in the headlights.

How the hell was she going to talk herself out of this one?

Just as she was about to tell them that this was all a big mistake, the woman gave her the warmest, most tender hug Bella can ever remember receiving. Family, Esme had said. Be a part of a real family. Bella couldn't deny that that was the very thing that she craved the most. And so, as Edward was unconscious and at the moment it was a victimless crime, Bella would let herself see where this would go. If nothing else, she would get to feel loved for a short time at least.

"I'm Esme, Edward's mother. This is my husband and Edward's father, Carlisle." She gestured the family to move round the brunette's wheelchair as she introduced them. Carlisle shook her hand gently and with a tenderness that bore from Bella being his son's saviour. "This is Edward's older brother, Jasper." The honey blonde man stepped forwards and kissed the back of Bella's hand in a gentlemanly fashion. "Emmett is his younger brother and this is his wife, Rosalie." Esme gestured to the burly man who was grinning like he'd just been given a new toy to play with. He bounded over and almost lifted the whole wheelchair with Bella still in it when he hugged her. Rosalie gave a much more demure greeting, simply nodding at her and politely shaking her hand with a look of curiosity on her beautiful face.

"Man," Emmett drawled out, "Looks like we have a new little sis then!" He grinned down at Bella and winked at her mischievously. "Short Stuff is gonna be so psyched!"

Esme smiled fondly at the mention of this 'Short Stuff'.

"That's right, Bella dear. You still haven't met Alice. She's the baby of my children. I know you'll just love her."

And though none of them quite knew it yet, they would soon find out that indeed Bella would love Alice.

Very much so, and not just limited to the sisterly bond they were expected to form.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note; Thank you to JJ, sexyoutlaw, Gaskll and the anonymous reviewer (though you may want to re-read the lady-lovin' description to avoid dissapointment =s). You guys are my new favorite people! And the story alerts and favorites- wow! I hope a few more of you join the awesome team above and review. I'm making these chapters super long (for me anyway, as you can see by my other fics) so I hope you're enjoying them and will give a little review. I'd really appreciate it =)**

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><p><span>While You Were Sleeping<span>

Chapter 2

Sitting at the bedside of the stranger who also now doubled as her brand spanking new fiancé, Bella Swan sighed. She wondered how the hell she had went from getting up, getting dressed, feeding her dog, going to work, and locking up her diner to being in a hospital with three stitches on the base of her skull, engaged to be married and having a brand new family.

She's said it once and she'll say it again; she shouldn't be allowed out on her own.

Another sigh was heard from the brunette as she rubbed the spot on her hand where her drip had been a few hours previous. She had been discharged with a clean bill of health and went home to walk and feed Scruffy. She then thought a shower would be the perfect way to try and wash away all the confusion she felt after the whirlwind of the past twenty-four hours of her life. For some reason, once she finally got out from under the warm water realising it wasn't going to help solve anything except getting the sterile smell off her skin, she found herself dressed and walking towards the hospital once more. Being clumsy by nature, the hospital was somewhat of a home away from home for her. Her mind continued to run rings around her as she came to the ICU. Being somewhat of a celebrity in this ward, the nurses turned a blind eye to the out of hours visitor and fetched her a spare pillow and blanket when she sat at Edward's bedside.

She looked at the man in the hospital bed. He was still devastatingly handsome even though he was pale and dishevelled and had stitches running across his forehead down to his cheek. Before she fainted again, Bella focused on something else. She watched as his broad chest moved up and down with the rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor assuring Bella that he was indeed alive due to her quick, if not impulsively stupid actions. Her eyes turned downwards to his arms. They were toned but not as muscular as his larger brother. His hands came next. He had long, pale fingers with short, clean nails that if Bella wasn't mistaken looked to be the work of a manicurist.

Shaking herself out of her observations, Bella gently placed her hand on top of Edward's.

"Bet you're wondering who I am and what I'm doing here, hm? Well, I'm Bella and according to your family I'm your fiancée." She shook her head. "I know, I know. It's so sudden. I mean we just officially met, right?" She gave a nervous chuckle.

_Yeah, when I tackled you to the ground after you were beaten over the head. Not exactly the dream first meeting I imagined._

"I just want you to know I don't know what the hell I'm doing. I didn't," She paused to swallow and collect herself. "I didn't mean for this to happen. I mean, if you were awake, I-I wouldn't be in this mess. Oh, god. Not that I'm blaming you. It's just that, you know, when I was a kid, I always imagined what I would be like or where I would be or what I would have when I got older. And, you know, it was the normal stuff. I'd have a house and family and things like that." She thought about her father, the times they'd shared together before he was taken from her. "Not that I'm complaining or anything." She took her hand off Edward's and ran it through her hair in a nervous trait she'd had since she could remember. "'Cause, you know, I have a dog. I have an apartment... sole possession of the remote control. That´s very important." She gave a smile that held no joy in it. "It's just... I've never met anybody that I could laugh with, you know? Do you believe in love at first sight? I bet you don't. You're probably much too sensible for that sort of thing." She looked up at Edward's handsome, motionless face. She wasn't expecting an answer but she carried on regardless. "Or have you ever seen somebody and, you knew that if only that person took a minute to really get to know you... they would, well, of course, dump the perfect model that they were with and realise that you were the one that they wanted to just grow old with." Her vision was blurring as the tears gathered in her eyes. "Have you ever fallen in love with somebody you haven't even talked to? Have you ever been so alone you spend the night confusing a man in a coma?" She whispered the last sentence as her voice failed her.

Bella was never one to wallow in self pity, and she wasn't going to start feeling sorry for herself now. She was frustrated. Frustrated that God, fate or the powers that be had decided to leave her alone. They took away her mother. They took away her father. They took away her chance to ever be able to take her future children to Nanna and Pop-Pop's. Her dad wouldn't be able to walk her down the aisle, no father-daughter dance.

These tears were for loneliness. These tears were for the loss of unconditional love and the yearning to experience it once more in the only form left to her; by finding that 'special someone'.

She was emotionally exhausted after the day's events and so she wedged the pillow between her high-backed chair and the side of Edward's bed after she heaved another shuddering sigh. She told herself she'd close her eyes for just a minute.

Just for a minute.

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><p>Outside the hospital room looking on with compassionate eyes was none other than one of Bella's future brothers-in-law. He hadn't meant to eavesdrop but ended up hearing every word Bella said. He wouldn't tell her secret, though. From the moment the girl was thrust upon them and from watching her interact with his family, the man knew this girl had one of the purest and kindest hearts he'd ever come across. And while he loved his brother and knew what Bella was doing was wrong, something compelled him to keep her secret for the time being at least.<p>

And Jasper always took heed of his emotions. They had helped him more times than he could count.

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><p>Wakening up with a jolt the following morning, Bella stretched out her kinked neck and gulped down a glass of water by the hospital bed. She glanced at Edward noticing he was looking a little better than he did yesterday.<p>

She slowly stood, trying not to aggravate her stiff back anymore than she already had by sleeping at such an awkward angle. She quickly put her coat on and gathered her belongings to leave before any of the Cullens made an appearance.

No such luck. Just as she reached the door, it was opened to reveal the whole tribe hurrying forward.

"Bella!" Esme exclaimed, looking both delighted and touched at Bella's presence. "Did you stay here all night, Honey? Oh you must be worried sick!"

Bella cursed her own stupidity for allowing herself to fall asleep. She shouldn't have even came in the first place. She was imposing on these people's lives and she needed to get a grip of herself before this all got out of hand.

_Haven't we already gotten passed that point? I mean, being engaged to a man in a coma who has no idea who I am? Yeah, totally not in over my head at all._

"Yeah, I was here all night. Fell asleep I guess." Bella nervously fiddled with her handbag strap as she watched the Cullens position themselves around Edward and get comfortable.

"You're like Rose, here." Emmett began with a cheeky grin on his face as he sat on the windowsill, "She can sleep on any surface. Can do a lot of other stuff on those surfaces too." He chuckled as Rosalie's arm shot out from the side to hit him solidly on his stomach.

"Don't pay any attention to him, Bella." Rosalie said with an air of defiance, "He knows after that comment there won't be any stuff for a long time, no matter what the surface might be."

Bella gave a short laugh at the look of 'Oh, shit.' on Emmett's face, and a look of satisfaction on the stunning blonde's. Rosalie gave her a soft smile before turning to her husband and whispering something in his ear.

"Bella dear," Carlisle began after his wife took up purchase in the bedside seat beside her bronze haired son, "We were discussing on the way over our plans for Christmas. Since it's tomorrow and all our previous plans have fallen by the wayside after everything that's happened, we were wondering if you'd join us at our house for a family meal?"

Bella's eyes widened as she took in five sets of hopeful eyes. She hated disappointing people but knew that there was no way she should accept the generous offer without digging herself into an even bigger hole with these people.

"Oh, um, thank you so much for inviting me, but really, I shouldn't. I mean, I-"

"Hey, Alice will be there!" Emmett interrupted as Rosalie nodded beside him.

"Oh Bella, you'll get to meet Alice!" Esme cooed, "Say you'll come, please?"

Jasper pushed himself from the wall he had been lazily leaning against and took a few steps towards her.

"Bella, I know these past few days have been crazy for all of us. You especially, I'm sure." Something in the way he said that coupled with the glint in his eye made Bella think he knew more than he was letting on. "But we just want to salvage what's left of Christmas and celebrate us all being together. And we want to get to know my brother's guardian angel and fiancée." He winked at her and she blushed. He definitely knew something. "This is our home number." He pulled out a business card from his pocket that had three numbers on it. The first one was for an art dealership. A Cullen art dealership if the fancy writing at the top of the card was anything to go by.

_Did these people own all of their own businesses?_ Bella thought incredulously.

"Beneath that is my cell. Call me later and we can arrange times and where I can pick you up from."

He smiled reassuringly at Bella, calming her slightly by his relaxed nature but seemingly confident in knowing she wouldn't disappoint his family by not showing up.

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><p>Bella didn't know what to do as she fixed some lopsided ornaments on her Christmas tree. On the one hand, she could just never see the Cullens ever again. Disappear. She could sell her diner, move out of her one bed-roomed apartment and move on to greener pastures.<p>

But on the other hand, there were five people who had instantaneously welcomed her into their family, no questions asked. They were warm and loving and they had invited her to spend Christmas with them.

As she threw some more tinsel around the tree, Scruffy watching nonchalantly from his position the couch, she knew she really didn't have a choice. The past three Christmases spent alone mourning the loss of a family she missed desperately weren't exactly ones she wanted to repeat.

_I mean, they already think I'm engaged to their son, so really, it would be weird that his fiancée didn't spend Christmas with his family... but you aren't really his fiancée, are you? Fuck it. It can't do much more harm, can it?_

Mind made up, Bella searched for the card Jasper had given her and typed the numbers into her phone.

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><p>Bella was panicking. Her hands were shaking, she was beginning to sweat and she was pretty sure her breakfast was trying to make a reappearance.<p>

This was such a bad idea.

As she waited in the lobby of her apartment building glancing out the windows for any sign of Jasper, the handyman of the building Mike Newton, seemed to appear from nowhere as he placed his arm above his head and leaned over into Bella's personal space.

"So Bella, Merry Christmas." He winked at her, using his 'sexy voice' which served only to repulse Bella.

"Hey, Mike." Bella breathed out, exhausted by him already. For the two years since she'd been living here, Mike had hounding her on an almost daily basis to go out with him. "Merry Christmas."

"You going to a party?" He asked as he looked down at the bottle of wine and bunch of flowers she was bringing to the Cullens. Bella didn't fail to notice how while he was looking down at her gifts, he was also looking down her top. She pulled her scarf across her chest and frowned.

"Yeah, Mike I am. In fact," Bella grinned when she saw Jasper walk towards her building. "I gotta go. Have a good day!" She shouted back to him as she ducked under his arm and out the door.

"But Bella! I found some mistletoe!" Mike yelled to her as she grabbed Jasper's arm once he gallantly took her gifts off her hands and lead her to the car.

Jasper looked back at Mike with a frown and then looked towards Bella with a raised eyebrow.

"Something you want to tell me?" He teased.

Bella didn't know why but she felt completely comfortable with Jasper. It was like they'd known each other for years.

"That's Mike." She groaned out, as if that explained it all. "He's convinced we're meant to be together." She rolled her eyes and shook her head. Jasper chuckled disbelievingly.

"Hop in, m'lady." He said as he opened the passenger side door for Bella with a flourish. Once they had buckled up and were on their way, Jasper spoke again. "You know Bella, I'm adopted." Bella whipped her head to look at Jasper's profile. He turned to smile at her briefly before he looked back out at the road. "We all are actually. Carlisle and Esme took us all in through one reason or another. Edward was one when they adopted him. Emmett was next a year later; he was only ten months old. Then they adopted Alice. She was born two months premature to a drug addict and she was sick, really sick. They didn't know if she'd pull through being so tiny and frail but four months later along came Esme and Carlisle again. We're all a little protective of our little sister." He smiled tenderly.

Bella listened intently. She'd had no idea the siblings weren't blood related. By the way they interacted with each other she saw that having different blood didn't make a blind bit of difference to them in regards to loving one another unconditionally.

"And me? I was their first. I was nine when they adopted me. I thought at the time I'd never be adopted. Just have to wait it out until I could escape the system. But Carlisle and Esme saw something in me that called to them. I can never thank them enough for all that they did for me." He slowed the car to a stop outside of a gorgeous house at the end of a long driveway and turned to face Bella once more. "Which is why I would never let anyone come into my family and hurt them." He looked pointedly at her. Deep into her eyes searching for something he obviously found.

"I would never-"

Jasper cut her off with a soft smile, "No. I don't believe you would. But I want you to know I heard you that night at the hospital. I know you aren't really engaged to my brother."

Bella's heart rate picked up speed exponentially and she opened her mouth to plead her case. To tell him she never meant for this to happen, but his family were just so welcoming and she didn't mean to hurt anyone but-

"Let me finish, Bella." Jasper admonished and placed a hand on her own shaking one. "I know that it wasn't your fault, I know that you had no part in telling us you were to be betrothed to our brother but I also know you're lonely and heartbroken, Bella."

Bella listened to this kind, wonderful man and felt tears gather at his words. She blinked rapidly.

"Seeing you sitting in your wheelchair that day reminded me of someone. You reminded me of a nine year old boy who had thought the whole world was against him. That he didn't deserve to be loved. You were like me, Bella. But I'm telling you now, you're never too old to deserve love, to have that need, that want for it. And I can think of no people better than my family to show you that."

Bella wiped furiously at her cheeks as the tears fell.

"I won't take the chance at a happy Christmas away from you, Bella. Something tells me it's been a while since you've had one of those. I believe everything happens for a reason and as much as fate has brought us to you, I think it brought you to us just as much. And when the time comes, when Edward wakens up, we can go from there. I'll help you tell my family." He gave her hand a gentle squeeze and handed her a handkerchief.

"Now let's go. My family are dying to get to know you."

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><p>Bella awoke the next morning in a bed she wasn't familiar with, in pyjamas that weren't hers and surrounded by a scent she couldn't identify but smelt amazing.<p>

Keeping her eyes closed, she thought back to last night. It had been one of the best nights of her life. Getting to know the Cullens was turning out to be one of the best, yet crazy, adventures of her life. Everyone was disappointed when Alice called just before dinner to say she'd got held up and probably wouldn't make dinner but expected to be there sometime later in the night. Six o'clock turned to nine, nine moved on to twelve and there was still no sign of the elusive sister.

Everyone insisted on Bella staying the night and after slipping into her very own coma, a food coma, she put up little resistance to the idea. Rosalie had leant her some pyjamas as Emmett remarked 'She wouldn't be needing them anyway.' with a perverted grin even after being punched in the arm by his wife, and Esme said she could sleep in Alice's old room seeing as it looked like she wasn't going to make it at all.

Opening her eyes and stretching, she yawned and then snuggled deeper into the pillow, bringing the covers up to her neck and groaning at the amazing smell she found on them both.

"Should I leave you two alone?" Asked a coy, feminine voice.

Bella jolted upwards into a seated position and looked at the owner of said voice. She was leaning against the doorframe with two cups in her hands and she was petit, no doubt about it, but only slightly shorter than Bella herself. Short dark hair framed the angular face that a smug grin was painted onto to. Designer looking clothes clung to the curves of her body. This was obviously the infamous Alice Cullen.

And god, was she was beautiful.

Bella blushed and ran her hand through her hair.

"Hi Alice." She said bashfully. "Sorry I'm in your bed but your mom said I could-"

"It's no problem, Bella." Alice said with a warm smile. "I just came up to introduce myself, but it would seem my reputation precedes me." Bella smiled shyly once more, "Oh, and I brought you this." The petit girl walked over to her bedside table and leaned over to set down the coffee cup for her guest. "Hmm, nice tattoo." She remarked as she stood back up.

Bella frowned and then blushed right to the tips of her ears when she looked down and saw that the black camisole she was wearing had ridden up her torso on one side to reveal the small phoenix tattoo she had gotten on her hip just before her father died. She pulled down and smoothed out her top as she stood up and tried to calm her racing heart.

"Um, thanks."

Still half asleep, Bella fumbled around the side of the bed that Alice was now perched on and grabbed the jumper Jasper had leant her from the night before. This pixie-esque girl made her nervous.

"No problem. Any other," Alice grinned cheekily and leaned conspiratorially towards the long haired brunette, "Hidden ones?" She inferred as wiggled her eyebrows.

Bella spluttered as she sipped her coffee.

"What? No! I don't-" Bella was cut off by another laugh coming from the other girl as she stretched her body along the bottom of the bed holding her head on her hand.

"Okay, okay, I'll stop." Alice looked up at Bella with a lopsided grin and focused her with a penetrating gaze, "So I hear my big brother is gonna be your ball and chain?" Alice enquired with large eyes.

"It would seem so." Bella mumbled, skirting her eyes to the side.

Alice frowned. She thought that to be a strange reaction for a happily engaged woman. And what a woman her brother had managed to snag. The long haired brunette was a vision to Alice. Her older brother and herself had always had an affinity for the same 'type'. Brunette, beautiful, doe-eyed. Edward always seemed to go for the more self assured women, the confident look-at-me-I'm-gorgeous ones. Alice however; well Alice preferred the shy, somewhat clumsy girls. The girls who were beautiful but didn't know it.

Girls like Bella.

She could feel the tell tale flutter in her stomach, the way she couldn't take her eyes off the nervous girl and she had only one thought running through her head;

_Oh shit._

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><p><strong>(Another) Author's Note; Thanks for reading, you gorgeous bunch! I don't think I'll be able to keep this pace up, but I wanted to get this up before Christmas. I'll hopefully have another chapter written this weekend or by the start of next week... Hope you enjoyed! <strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note; Thank you SO much to Masahiro, pazu1 and twilightlover4evr.**

**As for thoughts on the last chapter, I guess you guys really didn't think much of it.**

**3 reviews for a 4,000-odd word chapter... Ouch, baby. Very ouch. Lots of favourites and alerts though, so thanks for those.**

**This one's shorter because you've all depressed me. I (only half) joke =P**

**ENJOY!**

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><p><span>While You Were Sleeping<span>

Chapter 3

Alice was deep in thought as she drove to Bella's apartment building. None of this made any sense to her. She was close to all of her siblings and loved them dearly, but Edward and herself had always been exceptionally close. The notion that he hadn't mentioned Bella not only to her, but to anyone in their family was a peculiar one indeed. Edward was someone who enjoyed letting others know about his accomplishments, and to have someone as lovely as Bella to show off... well, like she said; it was peculiar.

She pulled her car to the curb after following the directions Jasper had given her. Apartment 201 is where she was headed in hopes of finding some clarity and some peace of mind. She had decided to visit Bella and investigate exactly how her and Edward came to be together. Where they met, how they started dating, when they got engaged...

All purely for curiosity's sake, of course.

For no other reason.

No, definitely not.

Certainly not for the fact that Alice was feeling things for the girl her brother was engaged to that she absolutely should _not_ be feeling.

She had watched Bella the morning she first met her. Watched how she nervously shied away from the adoring attention her family had given her. Watched how she nervously fiddled with anything within her reach. How she ran her hands through her hair as she talked. How her eyes would light up as Esme or Carlisle spoke to her.

Yes, Alice had seen this girl, and everything she saw, she liked.

But it wasn't right. Her brother is a coma for god's sake and here she is fantasising about his fiancée.

_Nice_.

She shook her head to clear the thoughts running through her mind as she reached Apartment 201. She drew her hand back to knock on the door but was interrupted by a man with blonde, gelled hair and overalls as he swung open a door directly across from Bella's.

"Hey sexy-" The man stopped short when he realised it wasn't Bella, but a visitor standing at her door. "Who're you?"

Alice frowned at the bay-faced man, wondering who the hell he was, why he answered his door exclaiming 'Hey sexy' when he thought it was Bella and why he was under the illusion that he was entitled to know anything about her.

"Alice." She stated tersely, giving no more and no less than he asked for.

"Yeah, well I'm Mike and Bella's not here right now. She should be back around seven. At least," He gave a smug smile and a wink, "That's what she told me."

If possible, Alice's frown only got deeper at the suggestive tone this Mike was using.

"We're kinda, dating, ya know?" He adjusted his trousers as Alice looked on with disdain. "In fact, I was just heading over to her place now." Mike strutted across the hallway and pulled out a small set of keys opening Bella's door and waltzing into her apartment. All at once barking was heard and Mike came scurrying red faced and wide eyed back out the door, a dog attached to the ankle of his worn, blue overalls.

Alice decided quite quickly that she really liked this dog.

Smirking as the blonde man-child struggled with detaching the dog from his person by vigorously shaking his leg, Alice watched as all this did was make the dog hold on more fiercely, growling up a storm. She decided to help the poor dog out. She didn't want him to get hurt by this oaf's flailing foot. Bending down slowly and speaking in a soft, soothing tone, she stroked the dog's ears and gently coaxed him away from the idiot she knew deserved his wrath.

Once the dog, whose collar stated 'Scruffy', was safe in her arms and he saw Mike moving out of his territory, the little critter turned his attention to the petit girl who was cradling him in her arms. Looking deep into her eyes, the dog leaned forward to sniff her face. After he cocked his head to the side he gave a small 'woof', leaning forward to lick her nose and then lay his head on her shoulder with a sigh.

"Damn dog!" Mike huffed, looking at the hole in his ugly work wear. "Bella should-" Cut off by the woman whose name he'd just uttered, Mike spluttered.

"I should what, Mike?" Bella rounded the corner and stopped dead in her tracks as she took in the scene before her. Mike was redder than she'd ever seen him before, he had a large tear in the bottom of his trousers which he currently had hiked halfway up his leg to inspect the damage, and beside him... beside him was Alice.

"Alice?" Bella breathed out. The other girl had a harassed look on her face and Bella noticed Scruffy was in her arms, as well as her front door being completely opened wide to the wall. "What's going on? Was I burgled?" She rushed forward to examine her entryway as Alice finally spoke.

"Maybe you should ask your boyfriend what's going on." She said with a bit too much jealousy in her tone to pass it off as concern that her brother's intended has a fancy-man on the side.

Bella choked and turned to Alice with an incredulous expression. "Excuse me?"

"Oh, I just came over to get to know my future sister-in-law when Mike here informed me all about your arrangement. How you two are dating, how Mike lets himself into your apartment to wait for you coming home..." Alice trailed off as the reaction she was expecting from these two people was not the ones she got. Bella, she could see, with each passing word shifted from confused, to embarrassed to downright livid. Mike, on the other hand, looked genuinely afraid of the beautiful monster in front of him.

"Mike, please, _please_ tell me we don't have to have this conversation again? You're a great guy but I do not want to go out with you, I do not want you to let yourself into my apartment unless I'm in need of the handyman who _seems_ to be abusing his power and so help me god if you let Scruffy escape outside one more time I _will_ file a restraining order on you. He nearly got knocked down the last time, Mike!" Bella was upset, no doubt about it.

Mike, it would seem, was suitably chastised and looked to the floor in shame.

"I'm sorry Bella, I was just trying to help and then Scruffy saw me and you know he's not good with people and the next thing I know-"

Bella's face softened and she put her hand on his arm. He looked up hopefully.

"I know you think you're helping, Mike, but you have to understand we are not now, nor will we ever be dating."

Mike sniffed, "I know. I just thought after you dumped Cassie you might want to try dating a guy again."

Alice almost dropped Scruffy to the floor. The dog gave a disgruntled bark and wriggled back up her torso.

_Cassie? That is _definitely_ a female name! Bella's dated women as well?_

Bella glanced over to Alice with a wary expression. This was not how she was planning on her day going. But hey; pretend to be the fiancée of a man in a coma and things are bound to get complicated. One crisis at a time; first, get rid of Mike. Second, deal with Alice.

"I hear Suzie on the fifth floor has broken her shower again." Bella said with a lighter tone and a smile, "Isn't that the fourth time this month? She's interested in you, Mike. Give her a shot."

"Really?" Mike asked completely clueless, "Yeah, okay... Suzie, huh?" The young man walked back to his apartment in somewhat of a daze, shutting the door behind him after waving at Bella.

The brunette let out a long suffering sigh and turned to Alice. She wanted to keep things light before the inevitable questioning started after Mike's slip of Bella's previous lovers.

"So." She began, "Would you like to tell me why you have my dog in your arms and more importantly how you tamed the beast to stay there? He's really not good with people, I'm impressed." Giving a small smile Bella leaned over and took Scruffy from the smaller girl's arms, kissing him on the head as his tail wagged, hitting repeatedly off her arm. They moved into the apartment when Bella motioned for Alice to follow her.

"I just came over to see if you wanted to hang out today. I'm sorry about the whole Mike thing. I think he was trying to impress me or make me jealous or something when he let himself in here. As for Scruffy, well I guess he just has really good taste." Alice grinned as she met Bella's eyes.

"Sure, Alice." Bella smiled. "So, what did you have in mind?" Bella enquired as she took off her coat and sat down on her couch.

"Let's just... get to know each other. We're gonna be sisters after all, right?" Alice smiled a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes and Bella let out a small sigh.

"Right." Bella breathed. She was done fighting herself over getting to know these people. They were in her life now. For how long, she didn't know, but for the time being it was nice having people wanting to spend time with you. Alice was someone she especially couldn't see herself turning down a chance to get to know her.

Meanwhile, Alice was feeling like a royal ass after her reaction to Mike. Instead of seeing him for what he was; a man child with a _major_ crush on his neighbour, all she heard was the way he leered over Bella and she lost her mind. She really needed to reign her emotions in where her brother's _fiancée_ was concerned. And what better way to do that than to spend the day getting to know the story behind them falling in love.

Surely that would be enough to snap her out of this.

Right?


	4. Chapter 4

While You Were Sleeping

Chapter 4

Now that Alice was sitting here in Bella's apartment surrounded by things that were so quintessentially Bella, smelling the girl all around her and having the very object of all this turmoil looking expectantly into her eyes, she wondered how the hell she thought this was going to help her stop thinking about the girl.

So far, all it was achieving was pulling Alice and her heart further towards the beautiful brunette.

Deciding she really must be at least a little masochistic, Alice asked the one question she both craved and dreaded the answer to;

"So tell me, Bella; how did it all begin with you and Edward?"

Bella let out a deep sigh and dragged her eyes away from Alice's and focused instead on Scruffy. There was something about this girl that made her as nervous as she was calmed in her presence. For the first time in the months that she had seen the bronze haired stranger, she didn't feel excited to be thinking of him. Certainly she didn't feel like talking about him or the lie she found herself caught up in, but she scratched Scruffy's head and answered Alice anyway. She deserved to know at least the small part that Bella could tell her without it being a downright lie.

"I own a diner across from your family's law firm. Edward comes in every day and asks for a jelly donut and a coffee to go." Bella smiled slightly thinking back to that first day she saw him. Who would have thought that the handsome stranger would lead her to becoming a hero, give her a family and cause so many changes in her life. And all without even speaking to her! She gave a dry chuckle and shook her head. When she looked up Alice was watching her intently. The smaller girl had a strange expression on her face. Bella could see she was smiling slightly, but it was tight. Controlled. Like she was steeling herself for Bella's story. The long haired girl cocked her head to the side slightly as she wondered why Alice would ask her a question she didn't really seem to want to know the answer to. And while she thought of this, something else popped into her head;

_Earlier Alice said she thought Mike was trying to impress her or make her jealous... of what exactly? The fact that he could get into my apartment while Alice stood outside waiting? Or jealous that he pretended to be my boyfriend? And what was with the outburst about mine and Mike's 'arrangement'? One thing's for sure, it didn't sound like she was jealous on her brother's behalf._

"Let me guess," Alice brought Bella out of her musings as she stood up and walked over to the Christmas tree. "He flashed you that debonair grin of his and you were a goner?"

"Something like that." She murmured. Bella's eyes were trained on Alice's petit form, watching as she moved to touch some of the ornaments on her tree. Her delicate fingers traced the smooth curvatures of Bella's many snow globe baubles, moving them slightly to see the fake snow spin inside them.

Lifting herself from the couch and walking quietly in her sock soles to join Alice, she stopped a hairsbreadth away from the other girl and reached for the bauble Alice was currently looking at.

"My dad got me this. All of the snow globe decorations actually." Bella smiled a fond smile as she thought of the searching her father did in flea markets and old antique shops just to find the perfect ornament for her. "We used to plan all these trips we would take all over the world. Each one of these is somewhere we wanted to travel to, somewhere he'll never get to see now." Bella's smile fell and she shook the globe watching as the last flake settled on the bottom of the Parisian skyline.

Alice watched with a heavy heart as Bella put the ornament back on the tree with such gentle care and reached for another one. As Bella's scent washed over her from the movement and close proximity, the short haired woman closed her eyes for a beat too long and inhaled deeply.

Bella glanced at the girl beside her as the sound of her breathing audibly changing. Alice had a crease in her brow and what she could only describe as a pained expression on her face. Placing her hand softly on the girl's forearm, she quietly asked if she was alright. Looking intensely at each other, much more intensely than Bella can ever remember anyone looking at her, Alice gave a nod and a small smile.

"I'm fine." She looked down and away from Bella before she did or said something that couldn't be explained away so easily, "What's that one?" She gestured to the bauble in Bella's hand and looked at it when the girl handed it to her. It was a small replica of a gondola and a man in a flat white straw hat with red ribbon trim, striped pullover shirt, waist sash and dark trousers with his right arm reaching out as if in song while his left held a striped pole. It was a snow globe of Venice.

"This one's my favourite, the place I always wanted to go above everywhere else; Venice." Her fingertips gave the barest of touches against Alice's as she took it from the girl. "We could never had the money to go any of these places, but these were the little slices of the countries we could afford."

Alice thought about the privileged upbringing she had been lucky enough to have received from Carlisle and Esme. Even though she'd been told about her own somewhat shaky start in life, she couldn't help but feel sorry for Bella. Alice had been given so much time with her adoptive parents while Bella's parents had been cruelly ripped away from her. Before she knew what she was doing she had taken the bauble out of Bella's hand and covered the girl's long fingers between her own two soft ones.

"Bella, I'm so sorry you've suffered that loss, but you have to know, you have me now." Alice frowned and cursed herself. If she wasn't careful she'd blow the whole (poorly constructed) facade she'd created in the presence of the brunette. "You have my _family_ now. You never have to feel alone again."

Bella looked at Alice, _really_ looked at her, and saw so many things in the depths of her eyes that she'd been searching for for so long. She felt guilty, and really, she had no reason to be. Her and Edward weren't really engaged. She had no real ties to him, and yet looking at Alice, having her hold her hand in this way innocent though it was, she felt like she was cheating on the comatose man that in reality had no idea who she was and who she had never had a conversation with.

"It's nice, not feeling so alone now. Having people want to spend time with me. But Alice, I _am_ alone. A part of me always will be." Bella whispered the last sentence and pulled her hand reluctantly from Alice's. She picked up Scruffy who was lying at their feet and went into the kitchen, Alice noticing her swiping at her eyes as she set the dog down a bowl of food.

She wanted nothing more than to tell Bella she would never have her feel that way again, that she would make it her life's mission to make her feel happy and loved. Instead she went for something much less incriminating and kept it simple.

"Hey Bella, why don't we go for a drink? Loosen up a bit? We can do our sisterly bonding over cocktails and cheer ourselves up a bit."

Bella smiled, truly this time and said "Sure. Why not?"

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><p>"You know, I can't really hold my drink." Bella slurred slightly after her fourth Cosmopolitan (because she just <em>loved <em>that show and had been hooked on the drink ever since).

"Yes," Alice raised her eyebrows and smiled amusedly, but slightly drunkenly herself. "So I can see."

"Well, we all can't have your level of perfectness." Bella said distractedly as she searched in her handbag for her phone.

"I'm far from perfect Bella." Alice replied with a hint of frustration in her tone of voice.

_I'm falling fast and hard for my brother's fiancée,' far from perfect' might be slightly understating my predicament. _Alice thought self deprecatingly.

"But Alice, come on;" Bella gave up searching within the depths of her handbag and fixed Alice with an intense but drunken stare. "You're sweet, you're funny, not to mention you're gorgeous... You have this warmth about you, like everything is gonna be okay, just as long as you're there." She gave a deep sigh and gestured wildly with her arms. "You're kind of perfect_._ Well, to me anyway." Bella finished on a whisper once more. She seemed slightly embarrassed by her ramblings, but not enough that she looked away from the shorter girl.

Alice sobered up slightly at the long haired brunette's admission and sipped on her strawberry daiquiri whilst thinking of an appropriate response. Bella was really making it difficult for her to behave in her less than sober state of mind. They were sitting so close to each other by the bar, Bella was looking into Alice's eyes and all it would take would be one small lean from the short haired girl and she'd be there. Where she'd been dreaming of being since she saw the other girl snuggling into her pillow. Where she wanted to be when she made her blush about her tattoo. And most of all where she wanted to be when Bella walked around that corner earlier in the day just so Alice could show Mike he had no chance with her, no chance at all with someone as special and precious and delicate as Bella was.

Just one small push and Alice would touch Bella's lips.

No.

She couldn't do it. Not to Bella. Not to Edward. And not to herself.

So she leaned back in her chair and gestured to the barman for the cheque. She would take Bella home, make sure she got into her apartment okay and she'd go home.

Alone.

Because really, what else could she do?

There was no question she was attracted to Bella, both physically and mentally, but it's her brother's fiancée she's taking about.

Her _brother_.

Alice repeated this to herself all the way to Bella's apartment, all through tucking the girl into her bed, as she kissed her gently on the forehead and all the way to her own home, continuing the mantra hoping she could stave off the dreams of holding that very same brunette close to her.

She was kidding herself.

The girl was in her system now. In her thoughts, her dreams, her fantasies... She was consumed by her.

Bella Swan was eating her up and she was sure she would be spat out, heart in pieces and unable to put herself back together.

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><p>The next day, Alice found herself sitting on Edwards bed, playing a one sided game of chess against her big brother and nursing a small hangover.<p>

"So, I met Bella." She moved her pawn a square. "Even took her out for a few drinks to get to know her."

Edward remained motionless as his sister moved his white night and took out her own rook.

"Even comatose you manage to best me, brother." Alice smiled at his handsome face and placed her hand on his.

"I've never been jealous of you Edward. Not once in our lives." She stroked her thumb across his knuckles as she looked at the chess board and frowned. "But I really feel like my heart's the pawn in this game, and you're the White Knight as usual, come galloping in and winning the damsel's heart. Although, in this case, you were kind of the damsel, Bro." She smiled sadly and released his hand as she stood up.

"Even when you did better than me at little league, or when you scored higher in your tests than I could ever hope to, I never once resented you for it; I was proud of my big brother. I've never once been jealous of you... Until now." Alice looked out the small window in Edwards room and watched as the cars passed by many floors beneath them. Her vision blurred as tears welled.

"I'm really trying, Eddie, but I can't stop it. I know it's horrible and ridiculous and unfair of me, but I can't stop my heart from falling in love with your fiancée. I won't act on it, I promise, but Edward, I just hope you know how lucky you are. If you waken up and don't realise it, I want you to know I'll be there, I'll be interested, and I'll show her exactly what it feels like to be worshipped." She turned to him and moved her Queen to checkmate him. "So hurry and get up so I can see how perfect you are for each other and write this up to temporary insanity."

As she walked out of the ICU an hour later, she felt slightly better.

Once Edward wakened; everything would be back to normal.

She wouldn't be in love with the woman he was engaged to because she'd _see._ See that _they_ were in love instead, that each other was who they belonged to.

As she put her seatbelt on and drove out of the hospital grounds, she _almost_ got herself to believe it.

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><p><em><strong>AN: "<strong>__**Bella's eyes were trained on Alice's petit form, watching as she moved to touch some of the ornaments on her tree. Her delicate fingers traced the smooth curvatures of Bella's many snow globe baubles, moving them slightly" – was it me and my dirty mind or did this seem like one long euphemism? =D**_

_**Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Mostly Alice's take on things again. Sorry it took so long but I was recently made unemployed and haven't been the happiest of creatures to write some fluffy Bellice goodness, so I felt I should wait to make sure I didn't 'accidently' kill a main character off in my emotional turmoil...**_

_**Thank you to all who reviewed/favourited/alerted/messaged me. You're all amazing human beans and I adore you =)**_


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